We'll Meet Again
by mahigan699
Summary: "I promise," ... "We'll meet again in the next life." And it was a promise that he kept. /Rated M for character death, implied yaoi, One Shot, COMPLETE/


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and whatever other games are referenced in this story. Nor do I own any music.

**A/N:** Eleven pages. 11 pages of writing in two hours. I… am impressed with myself. I am alive, guys! Holy crap! I know. Shocker. I threw in the Elizabeth Howe stone because I have seen it before. She is my ancestor and I am proud of it.

**Note:** This was an idea that I threw out to my friend quinntheeskimo one day and… well, we both decided to write one. Hers is Rated T and shorter, but still good. You should read hers, too. So nobody freak out if you've seen a similar story. We meant to both do the same plot.

**Note PLEASE READ:** I have gotten... an overwhelming response to this one shot. Dear lord. Wanted to throw this up there because I have gotten a few PMs from it, and a review from Immoral Red (I would have PMed you back, but your PM feature is disabled) which basically, summed up, said "The punishments aren't historically accurate." Here's the thing, guys... **if I wanted this to be historically accurate, I would have done extensive research. This is NOT historically accurate, I didn't intend it to be as such.** The ONLY THING from this that is REAL is the marker of Elizabeth Howe (which, ironically, I posted this on the anniversary of her death). My stories that are set in real life areas are never accurate, they never will be, unless otherwise stated.

Apologies for the long AN. Happy reading.

* * *

"Alright, kids, off the bus!" The chaperone at the front of the obnoxiously yellow school bus stood and grinned, waving towards everyone. "Let's get this senior trip underway!"

Kids were filing off the bus, hauling their backpacks and luggage. The redhead waited at the back of the bus, still sitting with his knee up against the seat in front of him. No point in getting trampled on, he could wait.

"Hey, Ax." A blonde kid sat down next to him and grinned, a wide smile that showed all of his teeth.

"Hey, Dem. What's up?" They were the best of friends, ever since preschool. Their mothers had practically forced them together at a young age. "Excited yet?"

"Hell yes! I have been waiting to come to Massachusetts for… well, forever!" Demyx smiled and slapped the seat in front of them repeatedly in excitement, the redhead glad that nobody was sitting in that seat. He had seen Demyx get slapped a few times for being too overzealous.

"Well, come on. Let's get off this bus. Wish I could have just driven here with my car, but no! Senior trip. You _have _to take the bus." Axel groaned and grabbed his pack, throwing it over his shoulder and almost smacking the blonde in the face.

Salem, Massachusetts. Home to the Salem Witch Trials that began in 1692. More than 200 people accused of practicing witchcraft and 20 of them were executed.

Axel remembered that this time period and town were one of his parent's favorites before they died. _Too bad Leon couldn't be here…_ His step-brother Leon would have loved to come – his favorite subject was morbid history, although Axel couldn't figure out why.

"Alright guys, everyone have all their things? The bus will be leaving soon so you won't be able to get anything else off if you did…" The teacher looked around and then yelled for everyone to get into two straight lines, starting to check off who came off the bus. Once the redhead and his blonde friend were free to go, the first thing they did was head to the hotel, drop their luggage off, and start their wandering around the town.

Sure, they had tons of time to get lost in the history and reenactments of the town, but they wanted to explore… **now**.

"Hey, Axel, look at this." The marker that Dem was pointing at looked old… very old. The writing was almost gone, sanded down by the elements throughout the years.

_Elizabeth Howe  
__Hanged  
__July 7, 1692_

"I wonder what went through her mind before she died." Axel hummed with a hand cupped against his chin, trying to decide exactly what would go through **his** mind before he was faced with death.

"Stop being so morbid! My god, Axel… you're making me depressed." Sure enough, there was an odd cross between a scowl and a pout on Demyx's face, making the redhead laugh a little.

"Alright, Dem. Let's go… do something, I guess."

What was there to do? Only a lot. There was so much to do; they couldn't possibly do it all in one day. Which was also why the senior trip was so long… so everyone could get everything done, get their souvenirs, and the little school would be back to where they belong.

* * *

"…y."

Axel stared down at his new bracelet.

"…ey."

It was like… it **called** to him in the souvenir shop. And it just seemed… old.

"…Hey!"

Axel flinched and looked up, almost smacking Dem in the face with how quick he looked up. "Axel! I have been trying to snap you out of your daydream for, like, twenty minutes."

"You have?"

Demyx just nodded, a smile on his face, despite the concern glimmering in his eyes. "Sorry, Dem. Didn't mean to space out on ya."

"It's alright," he grinned, his blue eyes glowing with happiness. It was almost impossible not to be happy around Demyx. Maybe that was why he loved him so much. "Anyway, it's getting dark. Let's head to the hotel. Sleeping on the bus was not comfortable at all…"

Axel laughed, agreed, and grabbed his bags. The pair began to wander around, trying to figure out where they were and where their hotel was in conjunction with the area. When they finally found it, Axel saw something that made him pause.

A head in the crowd – even despite being so late – of spiky blonde hair. Now, normally, this wouldn't interrupt the redhead's thoughts… but this time was different. Every piece of his being screamed at him to get up and follow the figure.

"Axel? Come on! I'm getting cold."

The redhead wasn't listening and took one step towards the blonde.

Then another. And another, more and more, until he was sprinting through the crowds to get to the person he didn't even know. He heard Demyx exclaim behind him, probably yelling his name, to come back… something.

Axel ran into so many people, he lost track. Some of them were his classmates and they looked at him as if he were insane, but he just… he **had** to get to that blonde. He just had to. There was just… something about him…

He finally stopped, his legs screaming at him in pain, and looked around. Where was he? Where did he go?

Axel sighed in defeat and sat down, looking around to where he ended up. A small cliff that overlooked a part of the village, entranced at the lanterns that hung near the doors. They were so pretty in the distance.

With a sigh, the redhead lay back and stare up at the sky, counting the stars he could see.

* * *

"…_no."_

_The redhead looked around, bobbing his head to a tune that played in his head constantly._

"_Reno…"_

_He smiled and curled his feet underneath himself, leaning forward._

"_Reno!"_

_The redhead flinched at the tone of voice and looked up, a spiky blonde staring at him with an eyebrow raised. "Daydreaming again?"_

_Reno smirked and leaned back, his hands set behind him to keep from falling backwards. "Maybe."_

"_Reno, you should know by now that daydreaming this late could get you in trouble." Cloud smiled and sat next his beloved, leaning his head against the redhead's shoulder._

"_Aw, you care about a little farmer's boy. How cute." He smirked and it earned him a light slap from Cloud, followed by a laugh._

"_You can be such an ass sometimes, Reno."_

_Cloud wasn't even supposed to know him, let alone be with him. It was wrong… it was completely wrong, nobody would ever agree to it… but it just felt right._

_The redhead smiled and leaned forward, giving Cloud a peck on his cheek, making him blush. He still wasn't use to the attention from another man… it was cute._

"_Reno?"_

"_Hmm?"_

"_Do you think we'll be together forever?" Cloud looked up from where he laid his head on the redhead's stomach for a pillow. There was a glimmer in his eyes and Reno frowned, wiping away the tears that threatened to fall._

"… _I'd like to think so, Cloud."_

"_Do you promise?"_

"_Cloud, really?"_

_The blonde sat up, tears falling for absolutely no reason, glaring at Reno. "Reno! Promise me, please…"_

_Reno sighed and sat up, pulling Cloud close and nuzzling his neck. "I promise."_

_He smiled and tilted Cloud's chin up to give him a kiss. "We'll meet again in the next life."_

* * *

_A week later and something happened. Terror and superstition threw itself into the heart of Salem._

_Naminé_ _was accused of witch craft. The next day, she was judged, and executed._

_Kairi. Hanged._

_Squall. Burned at the stake._

_Rinoa. Stoned._

"_Reno! Are you even listening?" Cloud was pacing back and forth while Reno sat at the edge of the cliff and watched him wear a path in the grass._

"_Cloud, calm down. So the townspeople are going through a thing… it'll be over soon."_

_The 'thing' had been going on for two weeks. If anyone was seen doing anything wrong, they were immediately brought to the church and tested in front of the masses._

_Squall had even been tried and executed… and that struck a nerve in Cloud. The two were good friends; they practically grew up with each other. And the brunette didn't even do anything._

"_Reno, what if we're next?"_

"_Don't worry, love. We will be fine." The redhead smiled, although in his mind, he was thinking the same thing. What if they were caught? Then what would happen?_

_He sighed heavily and pulled on Cloud's hand, convincing the blonde to crawl into his lap. A quick peck to the blonde's cheek and you could tell the difference… he visibly relaxed and leaned his head against Reno's shoulder. "We'll be alright. I promise."_

* * *

_The next night, a knock came to Reno's door and he answered._

_The next thing he knew, he was clapped in irons and being dragged to the church. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! Wait a minute! What the heck did I do?"_

_He was getting scared. "Answer me!"_

_One of the guards made a face at him, but didn't say a word. They made their way to the church where the people were gathered, all looking at him with strange looks, curious glances, and whispers of hatred._

_He was brought to the front where a man in red stood, hands clasped behind his back._

"_Reno Sinclair. You have been brought before me for accusations of witch craft." DiZ looked down at the redhead with a blank stare, one that Reno had seen a hundred times before. "You have been charged with placing Cloud Strife under a spell. A witness has seen you by the cliffs with him, engaged in intimacy. For these accusations, you are being put to judgment; the latter act itself is a cause for death."_

_He paused for a moment and looked at Reno, nodding a little. "How do you plead?"_

_Reno waited. And thought. And thought and thought and thought._

_What was the point in denying it? They had to hide their love constantly. If Cloud were found to be willing in the relationship and not under a spell or any such nonsense, he, too, would be killed. And… and if Cloud could get away from it without a scratch, playing the victim of witch craft, being able to live his life… then that would be better, right?_

… _Right?_

"_Guilty."_

_Reno could barely speak, his voice sounding broken, shattered. Nothing left of him but pieces… but it was for the best. For Cloud._

_They wasted no time and brought the dais, where a large wooden pole stood straight and still. They pulled the cross off from around Reno's neck and tied him, feeling as though his hands were cut off from circulation._

_He closed his eyes, the smell of hay starting to build up around him._

"_Reno! Reno, no!"_

_The redhead looked up and saw Cloud trying to make his way to the dais. He was stopped by his father, being held tight. People murmured around him, whispering things about the 'poor boy'._

"_Don't worry, Cloud. You'll be free from his spell soon." Reno wanted to throw his father into the fire instead and laugh as he burned… but he couldn't, and wouldn't._

_DiZ stood on the dais and looked at Cloud with pity, holding a lit torch. "This witch will burn for what he has done to the Strife boy. He will burn, and he will feel the flames of hell for eternity after."_

_He made a face at Reno, just a small expression that he almost didn't catch, and tossed the torch underneath the hay. It lit fast and soon, Reno was feeling dizzy, hot…_

"_Reno! No, please… please, stop it! He didn't do anything wrong!"_

_Reno smiled sadly and closed his eyes. "Don't worry, Cloud. I promised. We'll meet again… in the next life."_

_And the fire burned at midnight._

* * *

Axel jerked awake and sat up, stiff as a board. His muscles were twitching, he was panting like he had been sprinting for the past hour…

He felt something wet on his face and touched, realizing he was bawling like a child who had dropped his ice cream on the pavement.

"What… what the hell…" Axel couldn't stop bawling. He stood and paced a little, trying to get his nerves to calm down.

Eventually, the redhead relaxed enough to be able to stand still, standing at the edge of the cliff and staring at the stars. "I've… stood here once before."

"… I was there." Axel jerked and turned around, staring at the blonde that he had chased earlier.

"I… feel like I know you…" His blue eyes were so familiar… From his dream. What was his name? "… Cloud?"

"No… but I've dreamed about him before. I'm Roxas." Roxas tilted his head, a curious expression on his face. Something Axel had seen before… Cloud often did the same thing.

"Why were you crying?"

Axel smiled weakly and shook his head. "I… had a dream. I was burning, and I lost… someone important."

Roxas shook his head a little and stepped further into the moonlight, further next to Axel. "I… have seen the same thing. But… I saw the burning, not… not being burned. Reno… right?"

The redhead laughed a little and shook his head, turning his head to look out over the village, few lanterns lit now. "Well, I know one thing…"

He heard Roxas hum in response. "What?"

"… I kept at least one promise."


End file.
